Frage Inkscape G-Code renderer

I recently discovered Inkscape when looking at a way of producing SVG files for use in Fusion 360. There are already several plugins within Inkscape indended on producing vectors for laser cutting, and so I quickly became interested in using it with the Stepcraft.

While there is no Stepcraft distiller for Inkscape, I was able to modify one of the open-source g-code generators for Stepcraft.

Most of the variables are user-modifiable with the dialog box, however, there were a few setting s behind the scenes that needed changing (for setting the laser power, and the header and footer for the g-code). I tested this G-Code with UCCNC, and cannot attest to how it works with Mach 3, or any of the other applications.

Of note, the generated g-code does not send the laser to z zero when starting the job (this took me a little while to discover). I didn't add this line, but it could be an option for future modification, should you wish. You should send the laser to the Z-height you wish it to operate at before starting the job.

I have attached my version of this Inkscape plugin. You need to extract it to your Inkscape extensions folder (see where it is by looking in your Inkscape system preferences). The version that I modified was made by Jay Johnson 2015, J Tech Photonics, Inc., jtechphotonics.com.



Cheers!

Update to above post (can't seem to edit the original)

I had left some of the default settings for the plugin at their original value.
I've now updated Laser on to M10 and Laser Off to M11

From a mistake just now, I realized that the laser should NOT get lower by 1mm each pass - this had missed my notice before. I've changed this default to zero. If you wish to change this, be aware that you may need 5-20 passes for most materials, and this adds up!.

See version 2 of the stepcraft g-code distiller for Inkscape.

Thank you bmartens! This is very helpful!